Rinse, Wash, and Repeat: On Mostly Cloth Diapering

I remember when I told my husband, Justin, I wanted to cloth diaper. Let’s just say he didn’t buy into the idea at first.

A friend of mine took an afternoon to help me make sense of all the terminology I’d seen online. AIO, Snappi, wetbag, insert, prefold, and on and on. (Glossary of terms here)

I came home buzzing from the new information and the once-a-month full-caff coffee I was allowing my pregnant self, and did a total data dump on Justin. Having worked on the nursery all day, he was mentally and physically exhausted. In less than 60 seconds his eyes glazed over and I was afraid it was all over before it started.

My friend had suggested we check out Go Baby Go, the one-stop cloth diaper shop in San Antonio. Justin tentatively said “OK” to the outing.

The staff was super helpful, and I think seeing everything in person with someone who actually knew what she was talking about helped my husband out immensely. When we left the store, he definitely felt like this was something we could handle—no sweat. He was even a little bit enthusiastic about it.

One of the things we were really excited about was Go Baby Go’s newborn rental packages. Most adjustable cloth diaper items don’t really fit until a baby is a bit bigger, about 10 lbs. or so, and no one wants to buy something they might only get to use for a few weeks.

Newborn Diaper Cuteness

The rental worked well because we tried a few different kinds of diapers, figuring out what we liked, and even more importantly, what we didn’t like.

After returning the rental, we bit the bullet and made the investment in the basics of some pre-folds to use with covers a friend lent us. If things didn’t work out we luckily had some disposable diapers from adorable diaper cakes to hold us over.

Admittedly, once Anabel was sleeping through the night we weren’t sure about tackling overnight cloth diapering. So we used that disposable diaper stash for the longer overnight stretches.

And we still use them. We tested an overnight diaper a friend lent us (another great thing about cloth diapers is they last FOREVER!), but we figured why mess with something that was working. Anabel was sleeping through the night and that meant we were too. Plus, her cute little bum seemed to appreciate the change of material to combat irritation.

Eventually, I bought some newer covers because as awesome as it was to have hand-me-downs, the hook and loop closures (more lingo!) were worn out. I decided I preferred snaps so I knew the covers were secure.

We’ve also been pretty lucky: because my mom watches Anabel during the day, it’s easy to cloth diaper. Many daycares just don’t do it. We’ll see how things go once she gets to school, which should be sometime shortly after her first birthday.

Game changer.

One of the only reasons we still cloth diaper is thanks to a simple piece of 8”x11” material. A disposable liner to help us avoid the possibility of getting poop sprayed on the wall. Or in our eyes.

Of course people ask us why we do it. It’s a combination of things. The one-time investment into the big stuff was appealing, as well as a teeny, tiny way to be kinder to the environment. Sure, we have to wash them, but it’s one extra load every couple of days and it’s easy laundry to put away.

All of the pieces literally have their place. At least something in the house does!

Do you have experience with cloth diapering? What do you love about it? Or did you try it and decide it wasn’t for you?

About Ariana

Ariana grew up in San Antonio but left home to attend the University of Florida (Go Gators!), where she met and fell in love with her best friend and future husband. Justin’s professional pursuits brought them back to San Antonio, via grad school for them both at UT Austin. Happily calling the Alamo City home for more than a decade, the new parents welcomed a baby girl, Anabel, into their lives this past January and are excited to share the city they love with her. Ariana works as a communications and marketing director for a local nonprofit and is already counting down the days to next year’s Fiesta! She occasionally maintains her blog Corkscrew Curiosity.